


love in the bottom of a glass

by Ninestar



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Bartender Roni, F/F, Hyperion Heights (Once Upon a Time), lawyer Emma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-08-23 21:03:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 21,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20223373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ninestar/pseuds/Ninestar
Summary: Emma Swan has lived her entire life in Hyperion Heights. Today on her way home from work, she noticed a bar named Roni’s. Little did she know that once she opened the door and stepped into the bar, her life, that was not at all what it seemed, would change forever.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [love in the bottom of a glass](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20466131) by [Lin39](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lin39/pseuds/Lin39). 

**Chapter One:**

Emma had walked past this bar perhaps a thousand times, why today was the first time she ever noticed the folded wooden sign that announced the “two for one drink special” out front, she’d never know. She had had a hard day at work and she thought the feel of a drink sliding down her throat — and making her cares slip away — sounded divine. She pushed the thick wooden front door open and headed into the spacious bar.

She looked around and took in the rustic looking bar. It was clean and not too crowded for a weekday afternoon. The crowd screamed locals and other post-work people. Emma knew she wouldn’t stick out in a crowd like this, everyone would keep to themselves and not bother her. Perfect. She scanned the room for an empty seat, finding a chair on the right side of the bar. She sat down and looked for the bartender. 

Emma could only see a profile of the bartender who was a female with short curly hair, possibly Latina, farther down the bar talking to one of what Emma guessed was the regulars. Her fashion sense screamed a little too loudly for Emma’s tastes, but to each their own she guessed. When the bartender finally turned towards Emma and she saw her face she almost gasped. She was absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous. Emma stared blankly as the woman asked her a question. She had to take a deep centering breath before she could clear the clouds in her head and figure out how to make her brain and mouth function together once more.

“You alright over here?” the woman asked. A slight accent creeping into her words, Brooklyn maybe? Emma couldn’t quite place it.

“Erm, yeah sorry, it’s just been a very long day.” Emma made sure to enunciate more than usual so that her words didn’t come out as a high-pitched jumble of excitement. 

The woman smiled and Emma’s heart squeezed in her chest. “I hear you. What can I get ya?”

“Cider.” Emma wasn’t sure why she said cider, she normally hated the stuff, but it just tumbled out of her mouth without a thought. “Wait. No. Blue Moon. Do you have that?” That sure came out as a high-pitched jumble, way to go Emma. 

“We sure do.” The woman turned around to grab a glass and the drink, which granted Emma her first look at the brunette bartender’s backside.

“Holy shit.” The curse words quietly slipping from her mouth. Emma felt a little remorse for objectifying another person, but her eyes were glued to the woman’s ass. The woman’s exquisite ass that was encased in tight denim that showed off it’s every single curve.

The clunk of a glass in front of her snapped Emma out of her trance. She noticed there was her requested beer, but also a shot glass of another liquid next to it.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t actually want the cider, just the beer.”

“Well, it’s a good thing that it’s not cider, and that it ain’t for you.” The woman tapped the shot glass against Emma’s beer and downed the shot. 

Emma’s eyebrows rose as a hand was stuck in her direction. “Name’s Roni, I try to make it a point to know all my customers, and I have definitely never seen you in here before.”

A meek “Hi” was all Emma could manage as she grasped the woman’s hand and shook it. A tingling sensation shooting up her arm from the contact. “Emma. I’m Emma”

The woman, Roni, smiled as their hands remained connected even after the handshake had clearly ended.

A yell from somewhere in the bar broke the moment, Emma watched as Roni turned her eyes to the source of the noise. A drunk cop yelling about not having been given another drink. A drunk cop with only one hand. Emma wasn’t quite sure how the man had a job, wasn’t that something that usually resulted in forced retirement? She knew he was a police officer due to his uniform, which she suspected that him wearing whilst drinking and getting visibly drunk probably wasn’t something the Seattle Police Department would endorse. Emma tried to ignore the man, focusing back on her drink.

She finished her beer quickly and signalled to Roni that she wanted another. Roni quickly brought her another smile and another beer before going back to other demanding patrons. Emma sat and observed the bartender. Emma couldn’t quite explain the pull, Roni was definitely one of the hottest women Emma had ever seen, but there was something more, something Emma couldn’t quite put her finger on. 

Emma sat and observed for only the length it took to finish her second beer. She felt that any longer and she would find herself being labelled a creep, she also knew she had to be up for work the next morning and would need to be going soon. She took out a few bills and placed them next to the empty glass. Her eyes shot up once more, hoping to catch Roni’s one more time before she left the bar. It seemed she wasn’t the only one with the idea as Emma’s eyes were immediately met by the dark eyes of the bartender, a quiet spark passing between the two before Emma smiled and hopped off of the barstool. Emma felt the pair of eyes following her as she left the bar; she was definitely going to make another trip to her new favourite watering hole soon. 

As she reached for the door it swung towards her almost hitting her. A man in his early twenties with dark hair and familiar smile apologised to Emma as he walked by her and took the seat she had just vacated. Confused as to the sudden rush of feelings running through her mind and exhausted from work, Emma brushed off the man and tried to not think of why her heart felt like it was screaming with every step she took farther from the bar. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

Emma found herself thinking about the woman at the bar, Roni, far more than the work she was supposed to be thinking about, and well, finishing. Being a lawyer in a big city like Seattle had always been her dream as a kid, but the thing with childhood dreams is that as a child you never really understood how hard they were to maintain once you actually achieved them. She found herself often wondering if perhaps she should have gone into another line of work that was a little less tedious, something like law enforcement or a bounty hunter. 

Emma chuckled, she could never imagine herself running after people or having to tackle suspects. No, Emma much preferred beating the shit out of people in court, making them feel powerless and small by showing she was smarter and better than them. Emma had to ensure that no one could ever call her weak and insignificant, not after hearing it repeatedly most of her life. She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts before she went down the rabbit hole that was her upbringing. 

Emma’s thoughts once again seemed to venture back to Roni. Then, almost as if it had a will of its own, her hand moved the mouse of her laptop to the search bar and typed in ‘Roni Hyperion Heights’. Emma found a few Yelp reviews for the bar, she clicked on them, smiling when she found most were overwhelmingly positive reviews of the place. The people of Seattle enjoyed the bar space and the drinks at Roni’s, a few also mentioned the bartender being friendly and knowledgeable but none went any further in depth about the woman. 

She clicked out of the review site and tried to find a last name for the owner, her brain needed more information. She searched for the property’s information and eventually found a site that listed a name. Veronica Molina. It felt odd as the name bounced around in her mind, she had never heard the name before, but it just sounded wrong when she thought of the bartender. 

Emma took a deep breath and clicked the search button faster than one would have thought possible. The treasure trove that appeared on her screen made her eyes widen. Veronica, no, Roni was indeed popular with the locals. Every year she opened the bar on Christmas and served meals for the homeless, she also hosted community fundraisers on the regular. Emma also found that her favourite non-bar activity was visiting the orphanages around the city and singing for the children. Even though the woman didn’t seem to have any social media accounts to stalk, Emma smiled at the information she had obtained and closed the browser. 

After a few more hours of paperwork, she closed the lid to her laptop and pulled her blazer jacket off, her workday finished. She started walking out of the office when one of the partners she worked for called her name and told her to have a good night. She smiled and told him the same. Giuseppe was a kind old man from Italy, he had given her a shot when most other firms wouldn’t touch her, they always seemed to know she was just a poor girl from nowhere before she even finished handing over a resume. He had offered a job as an associate and had trusted her enough to actually chair several cases by herself. She genuinely liked the man and dreaded the day he announced his retirement.

Emma took the stairs down to the street, as the elevator seemed to be out of order again. She almost ran into someone as she opened the door of the building. Wait, it was the guy from last night that almost hit her with the door. He didn’t seem to notice her and kept walking, his attention focused on his phone and the fight he seemed to be having with someone. 

She took an Uber home and changed, going to a local bar in her lawyer power suit was a mistake Emma would never make. She liked wearing the suits, but knew her preferred comfort outfit of jeans and leather jackets helped to blend in if she were in a crowd. Emma retouched her makeup and hair after changing into an outfit consisting of a black tank top, skinny jeans and knee-high boots. She grabbed the black leather jacket from the small closet near the door before heading down the street to see her new favourite bartender. She felt the strange sense of deja vu as she caught her reflection in the window of a building. She almost stopped and stared at the image, she hadn’t put her hair up in a tight bun but the person in the reflection had. She blinked at the reflection and it was gone, replaced by the image she remembered seeing in the mirror before she left her apartment. She really did need a drink. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

Thursday nights at Roni’s seemed to be a rather busy evening. Emma entered the bar and tried to find a spot to sit, but couldn’t find an empty stool at the bar and didn’t want to try and sit with some random person at a table. She was just going to have to awkwardly stand off to the side until a spot opened up for her to sit. She was still going to drink; she’d just have to hold her beverage. She approached the bar and saw Roni talking with a small bearded man on the left side of the bar. Her eyes screaming that she wanted to escape the conversation. Emma raised her voice a little and called her name. Roni smiled and immediately walked over to her. 

“Ah, Emma! Welcome back. Blue Moon?” God, Roni’s voice was sexy. Emma could only nod and watch as Roni poured her a beer and brought it over. Emma really needed to pull her shit together and talk to this woman.

“So uh, your friend over there seems intense,” Emma tried.

Eyebrows raised as dark eyes shot back to the man she had been talking to before Emma’s arrival. A deep chuckle escaped her mouth and then a small sigh. “That’s Lenny, he means well but he can talk your ear off. One of my long time regulars.”

As if it were a sign from above, the lady sitting on the stool three people over from Emma got up and walked out of the bar. Emma swiftly snatched the seat hoping to resume the conversation. Her heart soared when Roni moved over to continue talking. 

“So, you new around here or?” Roni also seemed interested in continuing the conversation.

“No, not really. I live a few blocks over. I just never noticed this place until the other day.” Emma tried to think of something to ask, something that didn’t sound like a pickup line, or corny, but talking to gorgeous women was really not Emma’s strong suit. 

“Um, you own the place?” Emma cringed,  _ really brain _ ?

If Roni was put off by the question she didn’t show it and actually seemed happy to talk about the bar. “I do. It’s not much, but it’s mine, ya know?”

A flash ran through Emma’s mind. A sign. The flash was too quick but she thought the sign said Storybook, or Stoneybrook, or maybe Stonebrook. She had no idea what caused the thought, or what the unfamiliar sign was from. She really needed to stop falling asleep watching Netflix.

Clearing her mind she focused back to see Roni staring at her with a curious smirk. “I need to cut you off already?”

“No, no. It’s just been a long week and I don’t sleep much.” Emma felt more comfortable talking to this woman that she barely knew than almost everyone in her life, and she wasn’t quite sure why. Emma went on to explain that she was a lawyer and worked on cases that involved families and adoptions. Emma felt her heart ache a bit as she thought of her reasons for getting involved in the field. 

In the time Roni had between serving customers the two women chatted for about an hour about small things going on in the community. Emma then decided she didn’t want to push her luck and called it a night. She missed the look of sadness that flashed in Roni’s eyes when she announced that her current drink would be her last. 

Emma was in the middle of her last mouthful of beer when she noticed the man from the other day take the stool next to hers that had been recently vacated. She watched as Roni also noticed the man’s arrival and smiled. Roni clearly knew the man and looked excited to see him. A friend maybe? Emma’s gaydar pinged so hard around Roni she couldn’t fathom that he could be more than that. Just as she pushed her empty glass forward and was about to leave she heard Roni call her name.

“Don’t be a stranger, Emma!” She called as she lifted the glass in her hand towards Emma and then drank the shot in one gulp.

Emma laughed and sighed at the same time. Roni was definitely gay.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

Emma woke from a strange dream about being friends with a kid with dark brown hair. She couldn’t make out the child’s face, every time she tried to look closely at his face it blurred and she felt that she had to look away. In the dream, she had a walkie-talkie and they were on some sort of covert mission involving someone who she couldn’t identify. She had been having many weird dreams lately. It was almost like she was having flashes of dreams that she had dreamt before but her brain had forgotten, and if she tried to think too hard about the dreams, her head hurt. She should probably see a therapist or something, she knew she had a lot of issues, but bottling them up had always worked for her, so maybe this was just her brain trying to work through something.

After hearing her second alarm go off she groaned and got a move on her day. She grabbed one of the tailored black suits out of her closet and decided to rock a tie with the outfit. She rarely wore ties with her suits, but for some reason today she felt like looking extra dapper. She rushed to get herself together, quickly showering and applying a small amount of makeup. She was excited and honestly shocked to see that she actually had a few extra minutes before work. Emma decided since it was Friday she was going to treat herself to a pastry from the cafe that was on the walk to her office. 

She walked into the cafe and was overcome by the heavenly smell of freshly brewed coffee and the cookies that were baking in the oven. Emma got in the line to order, it was longer than she hoped, but as it was still the morning rush she knew she would have to deal with the extra wait. Due to the line she couldn't quite see the display case of food, but she could see the drink menu so she decided on her caffeinated beverage. The line started to move a bit and she was finally able to see the pastries. When her eyes landed on one called a “bear claw” her stomach made an ungodly noise. Emma could only look embarrassed as several people in the line turned at the noise. After a few more minutes it was time for Emma to order her breakfast. She placed the order and paid. She moved over to the side counter to wait for her order and started looking around at the different people waiting for their food. Wait. Was that? Yes, it was. Emma would know that denim-clad ass anywhere.

“Roni?” Emma tried not to speak too loud as she didn’t want to scare the woman.

Roni turned at her name and her face lit up, you really couldn’t call it anything else. As soon as she noticed Emma, her eyes began to run over the well-fitting outfit. A very strong rush of arousal coursed through Emma as she watched the dark eyes trace her curves and teeth capture a lip before their eyes connected. 

“You clean up very nicely.” Roni’s voice sounded slightly huskier than normal. Had someone turned up the heat in this place?

“Thank you. I’ve found that people take women in court more seriously if they look powerful. What are you doing up so early? Don’t bartenders always work super late hours?”

Roni picked up her order that had been placed on the bar then turned back to Emma. “I have some meetings this morning. Believe me, if I could sleep until noon I would. It’s Friday and it’s going to be a long night.”

Emma heard her name being called and walked to the counter and grabbed her order, a bear claw and a Mexican mocha. Even though she lived in Seattle, aka the home of Starbucks, Emma could never really bring herself to stay away from local shops, and the cinnamon toppings they used for their mochas was phenomenal, making her a usual at this specific shop. 

“Swan?” Roni asked seemly confused by the name Emma had used for her order. 

“I use my last name, because how many other Emmas are there in the world, honestly.” 

“Will I be seeing you tonight Emma Swan?” Emma could hear the hopefulness in the question and could feel the underlying tension in the voice. 

Emma smirked, “I have been meaning to check out what else you have on the menu.” Flirting with this woman was so easy and natural.

Roni’s eyes darkened as they ran over Emma’s body again, and the smile on her face said it all. God, Emma was addicted to that smile already. “Well have a good day at work…Miss Swan.”

Emma almost dropped her cup. Something about what Roni just said was like a punch in the gut. She couldn’t quite explain it, but it felt like yet another bout of deja vu. She could only mumble out a ‘see you later’ before Roni waved and walked out of the cafe. 

Emma remained lost in her head the entire way to work. The mixture of happiness, guilt, anger, disappointment, and longing that had been plaguing her since her encounter at the cafe overwhelmed her. The rest of her day she spent lost in the swirl of emotions she couldn’t pinpoint. 

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

Emma didn’t have a chance to make it over to Roni’s for several days after their cafe encounter. The case she was working on was far too complex for her to hand off to one of the interns, and Emma found herself pulling fourteen hour days trying to sort through paperwork. The case was a custody battle between two high-strung parents, both trying to one-up the other with their accomplishments while simultaneously dragging the other through the mud. It was a case that made Emma want to vomit. She was the neutral party representing the child, an eight-year-old girl who just wanted her parents to get along.

Emma felt for the child more than anyone knew, she had been in that child’s place once. Her parents, Martha and Dennis, had separated for several years before finally divorcing. Both seemed more interested in what they could gain by turning Emma against the other than being a parent. She knew the pain caused by having your world torn from you by the people you trusted the most and then being urged to pick a side. Emma was due to meet with the parents today, she had drafted a plan that she hoped would suit all parties and would be presenting the compromise to them. 

She hoped her plan succeeded and she could wrap the case up before the end of the day. The long hours were leading to daily stress headaches, the headaches were preventing sleep, and the sleep deprivation was leading to stress. It was a cycle that Emma wanted to end, she just wanted to get some sleep or maybe hit up that bar again. She smiled just thinking about grabbing a drink and hitting on the bartender, the one that she still couldn’t shake from her thoughts.

Emma took a deep breath and tried to refocus on work, shooting a smile to the intern that was carrying a box of paperwork into the conference room. She slipped her lawyer mask on and walked into the conference room. The two sides were sitting on either side of the table, the resentment and tension palpable in the room. Emma cleared her throat to put the attention on herself, giving them a target.

“Good afternoon Ms. Johnson, Mr. Roberts. The papers in front of you represent what will hopefully be the end of the dispute over Amy. The suggested compromise provides adequate visitation for both sides, as well as financial stability for her future.” Emma watched as the two began to look over the papers with their own lawyers. She really hoped that they would agree. She watched their faces, watched for any tell that would give away their opinions. She had a fleeting thought about how helpful having superpowers would be in situations like this. She waited through several moments of silence before either party looked at her.

It was a deal. They had agreed. Emma smiled as she watched the estranged couple sign the papers in front of them, trying to avoid looking at the other, trying to save face, but knowing they were actually finally doing something for someone else. She also had to keep a smile plastered on her face so that she didn’t give the couple a piece of her mind. To yell how dare they, how dare they not give their lives for their child, how dare they almost throw away a relationship with their child. She knew that hurt as well. That hurt was like a second nature to her, and it was the hurt that drove her to this job and kept her going on the tough days.

After finishing the documents that were time sensitive she walked to Giuseppe’s office to let him know the case status. The man congratulated her and suggested that they go out for dinner. It always struck her that she was celebrating another family closer to divorce, but she knew it was something that was expected of her and she could never decline an invitation for dinner, especially when she knew they’d be going to the best Italian place in Seattle. Her stomach growled a little at the thought of their lasagna. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six:**

Another night, another strange dream. This time Emma was fighting a dragon, well, she was fighting a dragon until she noticed a certain brunette bartender standing behind her, and then suddenly they were inches apart slowly eye-fucking each other, the dragon completely forgotten. She noticed the dark hair had been grown out and the stark difference in make-up. Roni looked much more powerful, more dominant than she did in real life. She felt the sensation of slight sparks when her fingers touched Roni’s hands. Roni’s eyes flickering down to where their hands touched before they connected back with Emma’s. Emma felt her lips connect with Roni’s and she swore she felt a jolt through her spine. She couldn’t pull away though, the connection of their lips far too pleasurable to stop. The slight moan that came from Roni made her even more irresistible. 

Emma opened her eyes just for a second to scan the room, closed them, and began pushing Roni in the direction of the nearest wall. She smiled when she felt the impact of the wall through the other woman. She used the slight distraction to grab the bottom of Roni’s shirt, a very crisp white shirt, it was almost like a shirt Emma herself would wear, but off it came. Her hands now roamed the exposed flesh in front of her. Her mouth dipped down to an offered neck. The salty skin her tongue touched left her tastebuds singing their approval. She made her way down Roni’s body, hands that were now gripping the back of her head urged her lower. The sounds coming from the bartender turning her on more than she thought possible. She had to shift her position slightly due to the friction caused by the seam of her jeans and the pooling wetness between her thighs. 

Slightly relieved by the change, she licked a trail from neck to collarbone. Her hands coming up to palm the breasts still encased in a lightly padded black bra, thumbs immediately seeking out hardened nipples. She felt Roni’s breaths coming faster and hitching ever so slightly with every flick of her fingers. Her right hand quickly reached for the clasp of the bra, her mind cheering for the small miracle of it being in the front. Her mouth on a nipple as soon as the fabric moved, her tongue flicking it as her thumb had.

Roni’s hips bucked against Emma with every swipe of her tongue. Emma took the hint, her hands worked the button of the fitted slacks. Emma’s brain briefly took a second to wonder about the fashion choice before returning to more important matters. The moment her hand was in Roni’s pants her mind went blank. Roni was so unbelievably wet, her fingers slipped through swollen folds while the bartender twitched from the sensations. She needed to taste this woman, now. 

She dropped to her knees and tugged the clothing keeping her from her mission down. Before Roni had a chance to process Emma’s change in position Emma’s tongue was swiping through the deliciously tender flesh. A small grunt was all Emma heard before she felt hands pulling the back of her head forward. She pushed two fingers into Roni as her mouth sucked and her tongue flicked across her clit. 

Emma felt the muscles around her fingers spasm, Roni was already on the verge of her orgasm. She looked up, taking in every muscle that was twitching or tightening, every hair that stood on end, every inch of this goddess that she had the pleasure of making love to. A husky cry of “Emma!” escaping Regina’s mouth.

Then Emma woke up. Her alarm blaring.

“Regina!”


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven:**

Emma remembered. She remembered a woman named Regina but was it another life, another person, or just her imagination, Emma couldn’t decide what her brain had been doing with her dreams. Why had she called Roni ‘Regina’ and why had this dream encounter felt so real, yet like it was another trick that her mind had been playing on her.

She needed some answers but it wasn’t like she could just walk up to Roni and ask her if she was someone else. Maybe she was in witness protection? Maybe Emma had seen her face on the news before? She needed to figure things out before she went to Roni and scared the woman away. 

She needed to look back through all of the sites that she had checked when she googled Roni. She thought she should call one of her law school friends who was now working for a large company that employed several private investigators and cash in a favour. She needed to know. The unease of confusion niggled at the back of Emma’s brain, it shouted and thrashed around, screaming out for attention. Behind it was that small voice, the one that had tugged on her heart when she walked away from Roni, it drove her to not just blame the whole thing on her imagination.

She headed into work not stopping to get coffee as she was already cutting it close to being late. When she arrived at her desk she found a file sitting waiting for her. She placed her bag down and pulled her chair out. She sat down and began to read the file. It was not a case that she normally saw crossing her desk, it wasn’t two parents fighting over a child, it was a father who was involved in a car accident and was separated from his wife and daughter at the scene, when he woke in the hospital he was informed that his wife and daughter had died in the accident. The case seemed sad, which was usually right up her alley, but Emma was unsure why the case was on her desk, she helped kids get a more stable living situation, that was her expertise. 

She walked to Giuseppi's office only to find he wasn’t in it. She asked around the office, no one had seen him come in yet. Maybe he had a meeting somewhere. But it was odd that he had placed the case on her desk then left the office. Very odd indeed, just as everything in her life seemed to be lately.

She glanced at her watch and decided she should give the client a call, to see why she was needed on this case. What she discovered was nothing like what she was expecting.

The father was convinced that his wife and daughter weren’t actually dead, but instead, his wife had been having an affair with a powerful man. The man’s wife had discovered the affair and had threatened to kill her and her daughter. Instead of telling him anything she had simply taken their daughter and had run, faking their deaths. He seemed convinced that he had proof of their whereabouts and proof of why they had run, but couldn’t get to them because they would run again. The story sounded absolutely insane at first, but the more Emma listened to the story the more she thought he might be onto something. They scheduled a meeting for later where he would bring all the evidence he had into the office, and Emma would try to come up with a game plan to get the daughter back safely and into his custody — without breaking any laws. 

When the man came into the office later that day Emma was not at all shocked when she saw it was the man from the bar, because everything in her life was fucking weird.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight:**

“Why can’t you just call the police?” Was the first question Emma asked the man, Harry, when he entered her office.

“Right, so that would have been the first option, but the problem is that the guy, the guy she was seeing he’s the police chief. He would know and he would find her.” He ran his hands over his face, clearly in distress but seemingly relieved that someone was talking to him about his situation.

Emma did a quick search on her computer, finding the name of the police chief. “Robert Goldberg, that’s who your wife was having an affair with Mr. Miller?”

“Harry, please, Mr. Miller is still such a weird thing for me to hear from other people. But yes, they were sleeping together, but I think there’s something missing, something I don’t know, because it doesn’t make sense that she wouldn’t tell me. I’d be mad sure, but I love her, I, we, could work past this and she would never have taken Lucy if something wasn’t seriously wrong.”

She wrote down a few more notes, making a small list of names and connections. “Okay, Harry...”

She stopped. Her mind screamed. Her body went stiff. Henry. Henry. Henry. A sharp pain shot around every inch of her head. She had to close her eyes. Henry. Henry. Henry. That name. As quickly as the pain shot through her body, coursing through her cerebellum down her spinal column, through every nerve that was attached, it all stopped. 

She pictured herself sitting with a boy named Henry playing video games and sneaking pizza. There was a flash of them sitting in a yellow car looking at a book. The boy had dark hair and familiar eyes. His smile made her heart jump. 

“Have we met before?” she asked as her heart slammed against her chest with every beat.

“I don’t think so?” he paused for a moment, looking at her pale face, “are you alright Ms. Swan?” His face and voice expressed concern.

She blinked. She wasn’t sure why the name had just popped into her mind, and why it was screaming at her like she should know the meaning behind it. She set aside her possible mental break and tried her damndest to finish the meeting without getting sidetracked by her brain and its fantasy life. They spoke about his legal options if Lucy was found, and the high possibility they would need to get more people involved with the case, including needing to find someone to extract Lucy from the situation. Once the meeting concluded Emma sat at her desk and stared at the wall. She was honestly going mad.

She made a phone call to her therapist and booked the first appointment she had available. The therapist suggested Emma should write down the story her mind was coming up with, that perhaps they meant something and were trying to tell her something. She opened a new document on her laptop and began from the top.

“I know Henry Mills. I know Regina Mills. They are my family. I was (am?) in love with Regina. I am Emma Swan, but I am also the Dark Swan. I am in danger.” 

She watched as the blinking cursor stopped moving. She had written an entire story, twenty pages worth. A tale of her family, her son, her parents, her powers, her Regina. Once the story was out she noticed that she had been crying, the fallen tears streamed down her cheeks and several had splashed onto the keyboard. She could remember it all so clearly, but it made no sense. Two lives currently sat in her head, the defined line between them quite visible. Knowing that it meant she was absolutely having a mental break she took careful notes and then handed Harry’s case file to one of the interns before leaving the office and heading back to her apartment. She was going to get drunk, and then she was going to have herself committed. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine:**

Her fifth shot of vodka went down as smoothly as the first four had. She barely felt any different, though as the fifth went down she hoped that it would be the one to finally numb her mind and its ongoing meltdown. 

She thanked whatever power that might be Roni wasn’t the one behind the bar, some random guy she’d never seen before had been providing her drinks this evening. She wasn’t sure what would happen when she saw Ro..Regina, whatever her name was but she was sure that tonight would be the last time she would have these delusional thoughts about the bartender. As she sat contemplating another drink she felt someone approach the seat next to her. She glanced over and saw that it was a guy with a prosthetic hand. She felt that she had seen him before but wasn’t sure where.

“Can I buy you another drink? A rum and coke?” She tried not to look at him but she couldn’t help but notice his eyes sliding over her, her stomach turning over in disgust.

Breathing through her nose as to not vomit on the lovely mahogany bar counter she attempted to politely decline. The man seemed to think that her decline was a challenge and he called over the barkeep anyway. “Really, no thanks. I’m not in a company mood and I don’t drink rum.”

He had the audacity to laugh at her like she was joking, “Come now love, just a little sip and I promise you’ll be delighted to have me as company.”

He placed his hand over her balled fist, trying to coax her to turn towards him, that was the final straw. “I’m sure you and your accent are used to bedding all of the ladies, but again, not interested. Please remove your hand from mine before it becomes like the other.” Her voice taking on a dark and even tone. He flinched at the words slightly.

He never had a chance to reply to Emma as a voice rang out and startled him, “Rogers, the lady said no. Back off or you’re cut off.”

Emma’s eyes followed the voice to its source. Regina. Emma's heart leapt in her chest, it began to beat so hard she thought she might be having a mini heart attack. The moment Regina’s eyes met hers she knew, it was all real. This was the woman she loved, her son’s other mother. 

Emma's mouth went dry, her heart rate shot up even further, she felt her mind raging a war. She knew the memories were real. But how could they be? She was a lawyer who lived in Seattle all of her life, yet she knew she loved this woman and had lived in the same town in Maine. Her heart knew beyond any doubt that she loved this woman.

She wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans and took a breath, there was no way Regina knew who she really was, not dressed like that. Though Emma needed to make one hundred percent sure. After all Regina was a powerful witch, so there was a possibility that she had actually retained some of her personality when whatever curse they were under was enacted. 

“Hey Roni, can I um talk to you for a minute?” Emma waited with each heartbeat to hear the answer. When Roni nodded her head and tilted it back towards the hallway leading to her private office she willed her mind to sort things out quickly. If she blurted her life story out to the woman it would be met with humour and possibly the threat of a restraining order. 

When the two women entered the office Roni’s eyebrows crept up, her cheeks tinted slightly and if Emma stopped to listen she probably could have heard the quickening of breath. Emma had thrown herself into the plush chair that sat in front of the desk, her head down just slightly, still swimming with her memories. Roni stood in front of her and almost startled her when she reached out a hand and tilted Emma’s head up towards her.

“Emma.” It was husky and sultry, so Regina, but still felt so wrong. Emma couldn’t help the flood of moisture that made its way towards her groin. Shifting uncomfortably she forced herself to meet Roni’s eyes and saw the eyes that she loved so much, but also noticed the telltale signs of arousal in them. Emma the realised that Roni thought this situation was different than what Emma had intended. She looked down quickly and quietly asked a simple question, “Do you know Henry?”

“Wait, what?” the surprise was evident in Roni’s voice. Clearly asking about a male was not something Roni had anticipated. She took a step back and reassessed Emma and her refusal to look back up at her.

“Henry. He’s about 13, brown hair, usually wears a scarf, best kid ever.” She tried not to express any emotion in the statement, mentally willing Regina to start discussing their son and how amazing he was. What she got instead was a laugh and the sounds of a drink being opened.

“Miss Swan, not sure if you noticed, but I spend most of my time in a bar where the drinking age of twenty-one is strictly enforced. But to answer the question, I don’t know him. Is he the reason you’ve been pounding the vodka this evening?”

“No. I just…it’s a case I’m working on.” Emma lied. She knew she couldn’t have been that lucky. She started to stand up but found herself right in Roni’s personal space. Those signs of arousal still oozing from the woman. If she moved a few inches she could be kissing Roni, she was tempted, god was she tempted, but would Regina forgive her? She needed to find their son first, find out where this curse came from, she couldn’t put Regina in danger simply because she secretly loved every version of her, cursed, non-cursed, Evil Queen, Mayor, Mother, Regina. She smiled at Roni and slowly backed away, heart aching as Roni’s face fell. 

Once outside the bar, she allowed the tears to fall. Her back hitting the brick wall of the building and she slumped down to the sidewalk. 

“You look like you could use a friend.” The deep voice cut through her tear-infused haze, she looked up and saw his face. This time his face had a different meaning, the memories of his true identity had finally clicked in her mind. She let herself be lifted from the ground and walked with the man, getting into his car without a second thought.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten:**

Her mind was still numb with emotion and confusion as she followed the man that was supposedly her happy ending. The hairs on her neck standing up, crying out. Emma stuffed down the feeling, she should be happy that she found him in this curse, him being here meant there would be a way out. True love’s kiss would now be an option. Her stomach rolled at the thought, a little voice ran through her mind, a voice that told her he wasn’t her true love. He was a lie. She ignored it, just like she always did.

She sat down on his couch, not saying a word. She tried to remember who he was here, she hadn’t really paid him much attention at the bar. Regina’s, no, Roni’s voice rang out in her head. “Cop.”

The memory seemed to snap her out of the thought, cops were usually alpha males and she remembered his behaviour the first time she was in the bar — it was like when she first met Hook, self-centred, all brash and swagger, and never taking no for an answer. Her attention was drawn to him placing a drink in front of her, her internal alarms ringing. She didn’t know this version of Hook and taking a drink from a stranger was something she would never do, she couldn’t even believe that she had gone to his apartment. Her brain must have just been so used to the man that it did what he wanted without question.

“Uh, no thanks, I think I’ve had enough.”

“Don’t be like that, we're just getting to know each other. There’s no pressure. Just two people hanging out.” He smiled, it was the same way he smiled before the curse and she almost let her guard down.

In one moment he was sitting down next to her on the couch, the next his hands were on her. Without a pause or a thought, Emma punched him. God it felt good, the crunch she felt as her fist impacted with his face sparked something within her, something dark and cruel. She felt a rush of pleasure as he tried to fight back. He tried to swing back, but she moved out of the way and landed a blow of her own straight to his ribs. He fell as his breath was stolen from him. She smiled as she saw him coughing up blood, she felt nothing of love towards this man — she never had. She felt the weight of expectations finally fall away as she allowed herself to break free of the man she had dragged herself down for. He couldn’t remember their relationship, but she was clearly seeing how it had begun to rot her soul far more than the darkness ever had. 

Another memory clicked into place, the darkness she had taken, the power that had been dormant and coiled harmlessly in her body springing to life. He needed to pay. How dare he pretend to be worthy of her? How dare he make her feel less than the woman she was? Her fists clenched again. He didn’t remember the other life, but he would, and when he did he would know why he should have been afraid of her instead of chasing after her.

She watched as he stood up, blood dripped from his face and he ran over to a desk where he grabbed for something. She knew instantly what he was going for, a weak man like that would always take the coward’s way out. She made a break for the door, she had no magic here and she wouldn’t be able to stop a bullet. She raced down the stairs, her body screaming at her to run faster, but the voice of the darkness hoped for the fight. She could hear his heavy footsteps as he scrambled down the steps towards her, she darted out from the building, anything to get away from the man who stole her happy ending. She heard the screech of tires and the crash of the broken glass. His limp body sprawled out on the pavement, she felt nothing but relief. She kept running until she made it back to her own apartment. Quickly locking the door she leaned back against it, her breath heavy and her body was wet with sweat.

She wasn’t sure if Hook was dead or not, she wasn’t even sure if he would have actually hurt her, but she was sure that she didn’t care. The man never should have had a place in her life, let alone a place near her family. She thought of the curse and quickly discounted the thought that he could be behind it, she knew he would have made himself a far more important figure in the curse had he been the one to cast it. She thought of the other people that she had seen recently, tried to think of any other familiar faces. She hadn’t seen any other magic users besides Regina, but someone must have been there, the person behind the curse. She walked over to her laptop and started researching the powerful Seattle elites.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven:**

Slamming the lid of the laptop closed, Emma almost threw the device across the room. She wasn’t sure what she had hoped to find, but there was nothing. None of the people that ran the city looked familiar. Whoever cast this fucking curse was someone she wasn’t expecting. She screamed just a bit, a primal scream that sounded foreign to her own ears.

She felt the anger and emotions in her twitching, just clawing at her mind, at her soul. They were screaming to get loose, having been denied for so long they wanted nothing more but to come out and play. Emma focused on calming the voices down. She couldn’t make out what exactly they were saying, but she needed to quiet them down somehow. She thought back to when Rumple was the Dark One, tried to think of anything he did that seemed like a hobby or a stress reliever. Emma laughed as the only thing she could think that the man seemed to enjoy was antiquing and that would absolutely not help her. 

She thought about the other things she considered stress relievers that she could do, and decided on exercise. It had always been a good way to work the emotions out. She changed into some loose sweatpants and a tank top. She had a small home gym set up in the corner of her living room, but the pull-up bar that crossed the frame of her bathroom door would be the better choice at the moment. She grabbed the bar and hauled herself up. Her muscles contracting and straining with every dip. After more reps than she could count her arms and grip began to give out, her hands slipping as she fell to the ground. The rage she felt, slowly slipping away, replaced by an overwhelming feeling of sadness. 

Her family was ripped from her once again. She hadn’t found Henry, was he even here in this curse, she hadn’t seen her parents, and the worst of all the person that was her rock looked at her like a stranger. She wanted Regina to help her. She wanted more than anything for Regina to know her and be the rope that she clung to in this storm of a mess. The tears splashing on her hand reminded her of her weakness. The anger seeping back into her thoughts. 

Weakness, doubt, anger, regret, they all bubbled together within her. She was the Dark One. She would not let someone steal her family. Her magic wasn’t working, but perhaps Regina could help somehow, even if she didn’t know anything, perhaps being near her would somehow help to quiet the screams in her mind. Emma glanced at the time, it was late, likely the bar would be closed late, but she had to try, had to quiet the noise. 

The lights of the bar were off as she expected, but Emma knocked on the door nevertheless. She got no reply, and so she knocked again a little harder, it was a thick door after all. Still no reply. She slumped down on the ground lost as to what her next action would be. The sound of glass breaking filtered through her haze and made her jump. Her eyes darted around trying to find the source of the noise. She stood up and made her way to the backside of the bar, the noise getting louder as she approached the back alley that the bar shared with the other businesses around it. She smiled as she saw Roni putting the night’s used glass bottles into a giant recycling barrel. 

She stood and watched, comparing how Roni moved differently than Regina. It wasn’t just in the way she held herself, but it was also in the way Roni didn’t seem to have the weight of the world on her shoulders, she hadn’t had the expectation of perfection engraved in her upbringing. She wondered how Regina would react to the memories that she would still remember, how it would change her personality. Emma hoped that it would help the woman feel a little more comfortable in her own skin, something that Roni seemed to have achieved. 

A startled squeak let Emma know that Roni had finally spotted her leaning against the building. “Emma! My god, you scared me. What are you doing out here?” Roni placed the last of the bottles into the bin.

“I couldn’t stay away. You interest me, and I had to see you.” Emma said as the words seemed like marbles in her mouth. She could feel the battle inside beginning to rage. The Darkness trying to scream its way out, but the Saviour holding it at bay.

Roni quirked an eyebrow, “Well, I’m getting ready to leave now and it’s late, besides, didn’t you go home with Rogers? What happened to that?” Her voice twitched with a hint of jealousy that wasn’t even subtle. 

Her face scrunching up as the memories of the night flashed through her mind as Emma struggled to figure out how to reply to the question. “I didn’t want him, I never wanted him.” Regina would remember this at some point and have questions, but Emma pushed on as Roni’s face flashed with concern. “For so long I let others decide what I want, tell me who my family should be, but all I wanted was the one I couldn’t have. I know you don’t understand, but you and Henry, that was all I ever wanted. I never wanted that man. He wanted me and I wanted that to be enough.”

“Emma, did something happen tonight?” Her concerned voice asked as she got closer to Emma who was standing still and emotionless.

The Dark mask slipping on, she had to protect herself, she had to protect Regina. “No. Nothing happened. I need to go.” 

As she left she heard Roni yell something but she couldn’t hear it over the sound of her running. Running away from the truth, running away from her heart, running away from her family. 

Emma ran, she ran until her legs gave out and she just sort of collapsed on the sidewalk. The sun had started peeking through the darkness of the city, giving it an almost angelic hue. Emma sat and thought about just what the hell was going on with her. She needed to get out of this curse and fix the darkness that was starting to creep into her mind. It was only really stray thoughts here and there, but now it was starting to pull on old insecurities and made her feel like she had somehow deserved whatever this curse was. Her research had turned up nothing, she had no leads, her visit to Roni was a total disaster, the woman probably would grab the bat behind the bar next time she stepped foot in the place. She was even more lost than ever.

She finally picked herself up after several people out for their morning runs had almost run into her. She started walking back to her apartment thinking about her magic lessons with Regina, if only she had paid more attention and been more of an active participant in her magical studies, maybe she could have figured out how to break this curse. In that moment Emma resigned herself to this curse. She would never get out, but it wasn’t such a bad life, was it. She was helping people, children, she knew where her best friend was, knew that she was okay, and the darkness was powerless and couldn’t hurt anyone if she just kept control. She could do this, she could continue like nothing was wrong.

Emma threw herself back into work, trying to act as normal as she possibly could. She fought the urges that made her skin crawl and tried exercising every time she felt the voices calling out to her. She hadn’t seen Roni in several days, letting that night blow over seeming like the best plan. Her life had returned to the way it was before she remembered her real life, she could almost believe that this was her real life. If only she knew where Henry was.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve:**

_ If Red Bull gave you wings, how many wings did three cans give you _ , Emma mused as she finished the drink and threw it in her office trash can. She hadn’t slept since the last night she had seen Regina, too afraid to close her eyes and allow the Darkness to take over her dreams. She could live on caffeine and sugar just as she had done in college...no. That wasn’t her, that was her curse persona. Emma Swan had never gone to college; she had gone to prison instead. 

She stood up and paced around her office, trying to shake the fake memory from her mind and at the same time trying to escape the darkest time in her life. Her attention turned to one of the secretaries popping her head into the office announcing that Emma had a visitor. Emma gave the instruction to allow them in and used her phone to check her appearance. She might be cursed, but she still needed to play this part.

Her eyes flickered up to the man entering the office, it was her client, Harry. The man extended his hand, a perfectly professional offering, but Emma could only stare at the hand. His eyes. How had she not noticed his eyes? Coming back to herself, she coughed slightly and took his hand gently. If he noticed the moment, he gave no indication. 

“I know I don’t have an appointment, but I just wanted to check on how everything is going with the case. I would have called but I was honestly in the area.” His hand pulled back from hers and she almost whimpered at the loss of contact. How did she not notice?

“Oh. Well, Mr. Miller, it’s been a slow process. We have a private eye scouring the area you mentioned but so far there has been no confirmed sightings of your wife or daughter. I also called in a few favours from some people I know, and they’re currently going through Goldberg’s financials trying to see if he can lead us to them. I wish I had more news to report, but it’s just a waiting game at this point.” She sighed as she mentally went over the case and tried to understand how this was possible. She tried not to think of how the man in front of her was her son, no longer a teenager, but an adult with a family. How long had she been under this curse?

She asked him to go over some of the case facts, only so that she could hear his voice, how it had changed and deepened. His face no longer the one of a baby face teen, lines had been formed, hair had grown, she saw a few scars that made her want to ask about their origins. She wondered who would have wanted him to be ripped away from growing up with his mothers. She wondered what Regina thought as she looked at him through her curse persona’s eyes. 

She also thought about Henry’s wife and child, were they real or was this part of the curse? Did she have a grandchild and daughter in law somewhere? She decided she needed to know, would do whatever it took to find out if they were real. She thought about what meeting her granddaughter would be like. She thought how the girl, Lucy, would probably be like him at her age, curious, smart, and mischievous. She had to hide the smile that tempted to grace her lips as she thought of how her son found the kind of love that she had for him. Her heart constricted with the thought of Regina missing out on Henry growing up and having a family. She hurt more for the woman than herself, she had already missed part of his life and was lucky to have been allowed back into it, but Regina was his mother from the start. This would devastate the woman when the curse broke and Emma didn’t know how she would be able to help that hurt.

Once he finished telling all of the details of the case again, he looked at her expectantly, without thinking her mouth started to move, “You hang out at Roni’s sometimes right?”

His head moved as if physically taken aback by the question, “Uh yes?”

Scrambling to cover her lapse, “Sorry, sorry. I know it’s off topic, it’s just I thought I saw you the other day and it’s been nagging me.”

“Oh. I didn’t see you, I would have said hi.” He relaxed a bit, taking the question as it was, and not as a possible attack.

She needed to get control of the situation, to step back and not let her emotions cloud this interaction, she couldn’t scare him away too. She lead the conversation back to the case and discussed the possible places his wife and daughter could be, trying to be the professional and not think of him as her son, it was a task easier said than done, but drawing from the mask of her curse life she managed to finish the meeting without another stray question or comment. When he stood to leave his expression changed from the determined family man to more of a friendly one.

“I, uh, I’m going to Roni’s tonight, so if you’re around let me buy you a drink. It’s the least I can do to thank you for all of your help.” His eyes looked down, he seemed to be bracing for rejection.

He changed in front of her, he was no longer the man who walked into her office, but rather she saw him as the boy she remembered, asking her to help him on an operation, knowing that at any moment she could run and leave him again. She admonished herself again for not noticing the sad eyes with the glimmer of the truest believer.

“I will probably take you up on that. Not for the case, but just as a friend.” His eyes shot up and met hers, his mouth opened but she cut him off. “You could use a friend, call it intuition or whatever. I get it.” 

He nodded and lead himself out of the office. Emma had to resist the urge to run after him and hug him until he felt something for her and possibly remembered. She saw the scene play out in her head, but then the image changed. Instead of hugging him she was holding the limp lifeless body of her son. The voices inside her head growing excited by the pain she felt. She forced herself to focus on something else, knowing that running until her legs gave out wasn’t currently an option, her phone seeming to be the closest thing that could distract her rapidly derailing brain.

Later that night when she stepped into the bar her skin broke into goosebumps, her family was here, she hadn’t seen them yet, but she already knew. She looked towards the bar where Roni was deep into an animated discussion with Harry. She hovered in the back, trying to stay unnoticed, just content in the space of her fantasy in which Regina and Henry were talking about their plans on how to surprise her for a family vacation. All smiles and joy. She took an empty seat and continued to watch them, a single tear hit the table before several more from the stream that had begun to work its way down her face followed. She looked at her family, the two most important people in the world to her, two people that she would give up everything for, and felt lonelier than she had ever felt in her entire life.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen:**

Emma watched her family interact for about ten minutes before she was spotted by Roni. She wasn’t sure how the woman would respond to her after the bizarre encounter behind the bar but the smile that formed on her face took Emma’s breath away. The difference between Roni and Regina was stark and vast, but the smile that crinkled around her eyes and made Emma’s heart skip a beat was absolutely the same. She stood up from the table and walked to the bar like she was under Roni’s thrall. 

“Roni, Harry.” Emma nodded in greeting.

“Ah, so you two have met! Fantastic. I was just talking to Harry here about his case.” Roni spoke as her hands stayed busy cleaning the bar; it was like she was the stereotypical bartender character from a film. Emma was so going to tease Regina about this when she finally woke up from this curse. 

Emma tried to keep the humour out of her voice, instead trying to sound mildly confused. “Oh?” 

Harry took a sip of his beer before replying, “Roni was the one who actually suggested contacting a lawyer. Small world huh?” 

Emma thought about the weight of that statement. “You have no idea.” She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to figure out how to not be awkward in this situation. She really didn’t want to say anything that could drive them away.

“How about that drink I promised?” God Regina was going to kill her when she found out she bought her baby boy alcohol, but he was an adult so what the hell, right?

Roni took her queue and turned away to make their drinks. Emma looked at Henry, no Harry, fuck this was so weird. She saw him looking at his still half full beer, clearly deep in thought. Her motherly instincts wanted to wrap him in a hug, but she knew that would not send the right message or be welcome at this point. “Anything on your mind you want to talk about? I’m your lawyer so it’s confidential, promise.” She tried to smile at the joke but it never quite made it past the smirk stage. 

“I appreciate it, I do, but it’s not like I can do anything. I just need my family back.” Emma clenched her teeth, this was a dangerous line. “I don’t blame my wife for what happened, if she felt something for someone then who am I to stop her. I just wish she would have talked to me before this whole thing happened, but I can’t help but be angry because it cost me time with my daughter. I know I’ll get them back, I know it. But how much time will I lose with her, will she remember me when she sees me.” 

Emma turned her head away to wipe the tears, hoping he hadn’t seen just how the words affected her with how close they were to her own story. “You’re gonna get them back. I promise.” Emma had to hold tight to this promise, not only for him but also for herself. She was going to have Henry and Regina back. This time she would make sure that nothing got in the way of them being a family again.

Roni returned with their drinks, noticing the serious tone of the conversation she had walked back into. “I was only gone for a minute, what happened?” Her tone light.

Both sets of eyes turned to her and then looked at each other trying to find the words. “Emma is my lawyer and I was just thanking her for taking my case.”

“But she’s buying you the drink.” Roni laughed and Emma clenched her thighs together, god that laugh always did things to her libido. 

“Hey, I’m just a poor writer so I’ll take free booze where I can get it.” The three of them laughed and Emma thought that if she were truly stuck in this curse for the rest of her days, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. The bar was experiencing a slow night and it gave Roni time to stay and chat with Emma and Harry. The three sat and talked about the neighbourhood and how it had started to change recently (only Emma knew that it must have had something to do with her waking up), they also played a game where Roni would make up a backstory for another patron and Emma and Henry would have to guess if it was the truth or a lie. It was the most fun Emma had had in weeks. With every laugh from one of the others, she felt a little more at home, a little less lonely.

When closing time rolled around Roni reluctantly told them they had to leave. Harry decided he was going to go home and attempt to work on his article that was due in several days. Emma knew he would probably fall asleep at his laptop before he had actually written anything; he was still her son deep down, even if he had no idea of the fact.

Emma’s eyes tracked Roni as she wiped down a counter, the buzz of alcohol making her feel just the bit of confidence that she felt had been missing from her life as of late. Roni looked up at Emma as though she had felt the eyes on her, her eyes flickered to the door and back to Emma. “You’re not gonna freak out on me again, right? Once I can chalk up to a bad day or stress, but just don’t make it a habit okay?” 

Emma walked closer to Roni and slowly reached out her hand. Both women watched as their skin made contact, fingertips brushing the top of Regina’s hand that had stilled on the bar. Their eyes met and it was clear what thoughts were playing out each of their minds. Emma’s tongue ran over her lip wetting it as she looked at Roni. Regina. Somewhere in there was still Regina, and if she wasn’t cursed would she still be giving that look to Emma? As soon as the thought entered her mind Emma knew the answer, yes. Regina had looked at her the same way many times, but Emma had always ignored it or thought that she was imagining things. 

“You want to get out of here?” Roni’s voice cut through Emma’s thoughts. This was happening, Emma almost screamed ‘yes’. She knew that when Regina regained her memories they would have a long chat about this, but she knew that there was no way that Regina would be upset by Emma finally giving in to her feelings for her. She just hoped she would get the chance to tell the real Regina one day.

Emma watched as Roni walked out from behind the bar and then felt herself be lead by the hand out of the bar. Her breath quickened as they stopped moving and Roni turned to lock the door of the bar. “My place is two streets over.”

She took just a second to slow herself and the excitement and arousal coursing through her body. She wanted this to be something to savour not just a quick fuck. She hoped that wasn’t what Roni was hoping for, she didn’t do one-night stands, and she knew Regina would never either. She knew she owed it to Regina to make sure this wasn’t something cheap or regrettable. 

She laced her fingers with Roni’s and instructed her to lead the way. The two women moved silently down the street for several moments before Roni led them to a doorway. She unlocked the front door of the apartment building then lead them down the hallway to her apartment. Once inside she asked Emma if she wanted another drink. Emma didn’t want to get drunk and asked for only a water as she took in the personal space she stood in. The walls were adorned with simple art, mostly of trees, it was not exactly what Emma had expected from the rather colourfully dressed bartender. There weren’t many photos of people and Emma’s heart hurt just a bit knowing that this version of Regina was probably also very lonely. 

“One water.” Roni handed Emma a glass and she suddenly had a moment of deja-vu to the first night they met. When their fingers brushed the moment was broken and she thought of how different things could have been had Regina not viewed her as a threat back then. She took a sip of the water and turned to Roni who was leaning against the kitchen counter observing Emma. She watched as Roni slowly walked back over to her and took the glass from her hand. Roni was clearly also the take-charge kind of woman. Emma gulped hard.

As soon as the glass was placed on a counter Roni turned her attention back to Emma, her eyes flickering between her eyes and her lips. Emma held her breath as Roni stepped closer, the feel of deja-vu returning, this time it was that day at the mines. She thought Regina was going to kiss her in that moment, and her heart broke when she didn’t. This time was different though, this time Roni didn’t stop, their lips touched ever so slightly and Emma closed her eyes. 

She felt a surge of electricity run through her body before it seemed to explode, her eyes shot open to see the rainbow wave emanating from their kiss. Before she had a chance to react, or even realise that it was magic flowing between them, she gasped and sat up to see that she was alone in what she could only describe as a tomb.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen:**

Emma looked around at the room; it was dark with the only light coming from a single light on the wall. There was a single chair in the corner of the room but no other furniture or fixtures. This truly reminded her of a tomb. She stood up from the bed she had been laying on, her limbs resisting slightly; they felt as if they had been unused for a lengthy period of time. A prickly feeling in the back of her mind reminded Emma of her magic, she had access to it which meant she was no longer in Seattle but back in Storybrooke. Her magic felt different though, it felt darker. The pit in her stomach growing with every second, she was still the Dark One, and she had no idea how to control it.

Emma summoned her magic and tried to focus, she needed to get to Regina and Henry. She needed to ensure her family was safe, but she was also going to need Regina’s help to figure out where they had been and how to control her darkness. She teleported herself to Regina’s mansion and took a quick look around. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, well unless you count a giant wolf sitting in the garden staring at the apple tree. Emma closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, when she opened them, the wolf was gone. 

She knocked on the door of the house and waited, after a moment she knocked again. After the third knock she gave up. She tried to think of where else Regina could be, it wasn’t like the town was that big, and the Mayor didn’t frequent that many places. She focused and found herself in front of Granny’s. She heard the familiar bell ring as she walked into the diner, she heard a dish crash and heard a profanity-laden exclamation come from behind the counter where Ruby stood gawking at her. She then felt the rest of the diner turn towards her, many of the faces riddled with fear, some with just surprise, but more with a mixture of both. 

“Uh, has anyone seen Regina or Henry?” Emma cautiously asked. This was beyond strange. Everyone looked at her like she was a stranger, but they knew her, right?

It was Granny who answered the question while holding a shotgun in one hand and a crossbow in the other. “She’s not here, and you shouldn’t be either. Leave now. I don’t want to hurt you child, but I have to protect my own.” Her glare confirmed how serious she was.

Emma slowly backed out of the diner before transporting herself back to Regina’s house. She thought that she could feel Regina’s magic reaching out to her, but perhaps it was all in her imagination. She tried to run with the feeling, however, and tried to feel where it was coming from but she wasn’t able to get a location from the feeling. She knew Regina was here in Storybrooke though, which hopefully meant Henry was also here.

“Your family is here, but you’ve lost them. Quite the predicament.” Emma jumped at the voice.

“Gold. I should have known this was your doing. Let me guess, this is all some big plot to get the darkness back?” Emma sighed as he laughed at her.

“No no dearie. This is not me at all, since I am not here. I am merely a manifestation.” He replied while making some elaborate hand gestures that Emma found obnoxious. 

“If you’re not gonna help me just go away Gold.” She attempted to transport him away but when nothing happened and he remained standing in Regina’s driveway she looked at her hand as if it had failed her.

He giggled, “I told you. I’m not here. I’m all in here.” He was suddenly next to her with his finger on her forehead. She brushed his hand off of her skin but felt the area he had touched crawling and she shivered. 

“Sure, I’ll play along. Why are you in my head? Why am I talking to you right now?” She was not a fan of Rumpelstiltskin and this delay was not something she wanted to deal with.

“I’m talking to you because you need me. Call me a tour guide to the world of darkness. I can always change form if you’d like, but that’s up to you. You wanted me so here I am dearie.” Emma scrunched her brow. Why did she need a tour guide? Wasn’t being the Dark One pretty self-explanatory? You were Evil and did whatever you wanted to do, because that’s what Evil people did.

“You need a guide because your mind is sorting out what is real and what isn’t real. Your recent adventures in the land of no magic didn’t help either. I told you, I’m in your mind. I can hear everything you are thinking.” 

“Well if you can really hear my thoughts and are a figment of my imagination, help me find Henry and Regina. I can worry about the rest of this later.” Emma was starting to feel her anger take over, the feeling more intense than any other time she could remember.

“Hate leads to the dark side.” Emma looked at Gold, had he just quoted Star Wars? This day could not get any weirder. 

Her brain went into an ignore mode, she was done with the imp, she just wanted to find her family and move on with their lives. She transported herself into Regina’s house; she needed to search for clues on their whereabouts. She checked Henry’s room first, it looked exactly as she last remembered it, comics and blank journals strewn all over his desk. It looked like a teenage boy’s room rather than an adult male with a wife and child. She closed his door and walked down the hall to Regina’s room. She knocked on the door just to double check if the woman was in her room before opening the door.

When she found that room also empty she felt numb. They had to be somewhere. What good was all this power if she couldn’t find them? The rage was rising back in her system causing the lights in the house to flicker before burning out with a spark. The anger in Emma only grew when she realised she hadn’t even checked the room she had woken up in, she couldn’t teleport back since she didn’t know where it was and hadn’t gathered any information about what was happening there. She was almost glad for a second that Regina wasn’t around to call her out on her stupidity. Her only other option at this point was her parents, maybe they knew something.

Approaching her parent’s loft she noticed a few strange things, the one that stood out, however, was the lack of people. Storybrooke had never been the busiest town but there were usually some people visibly milling around the town in the middle of the day, today however she had yet to see anyone that wasn’t sitting in the dinner. It was a bit unnerving, Emma had had a dream of being the only person in the town before, it was creepy then and it was even creepier living something similar to it. 

She raised her hand to knock on her parent’s door, but paused to listen for a moment. Behind the door she could hear some kind of noise, someone was in the apartment. She lightly knocked on the door and heard the noise stop replaced by the sound of someone whispering. She knocked again. It was almost a solid minute before the door was opened and a nervous looking Snow appeared.

“Emma, oh my god. You’re back!” The sound of excitement and hope crept into her voice that was shaded with anxiety. Emma became suspicious.

“Back? How do you know I went anywhere?” she asked.

Snow tried to look away for a second, “Oh, I mean, we knew you were gone, but now you’re back.” Emma knew if she pressed just a little Snow would give up whatever she was hiding, she never could keep a secret. 

Emma started walking towards Snow, trying to enter the loft but Snow awkwardly moved forward and blocked her path, closing the door slightly as she moved. Emma glared at her. Something was definitely wrong.

“Snow what the hell is going on?” Emma’s voice coming out hard and aggressive. Snow flinched.

“Emma it was supposed to help you. Give us time to figure out things, and keep all of us safe.” Snow’s voice came out as almost only a whisper, cracking in spots. 

“What was? Tell me what’s going on? Where are Henry and Regina? The rest of the town? Tell me.” The lights were flickering again. Snow noticed the flicker and her eyes darted around at the empty hall and then back to Emma. 

“Emma. You have to trust us, it’s for your own good. Blue is helping, we’ll fix you. Everything can go back to how it was before.”

Emma’s fists balled up. Her anger becoming more palpable with every passing second. “Fucking tell me! What the fuck did you do Snow?”

“We protected everyone, including you and Henry. We made sure you wouldn’t hurt anyone. Blue said it would work.” Snow was now in tears. Emma growled at her mother and disappeared.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen:**

The fucking Blue Fairy. Emma always thought she was sketchy, but this was something far more devious than that. Emma wasn’t even sure what this was, but she knew that somehow Blue was the one responsible for taking her family. She looked down at her clothes, if Blue wanted to be afraid then Emma would look as intimidating as she possibly could. The image that she had seen back in Hyperion Heights flashed through her mind, and a second later Emma stood wearing all black leather with her almost white hair pulled back in a tight bun. She would make the fairy tremble before her and punish her for messing with her family.

She approached the nunnery a few moments later. There were no signs of anyone being there, but Emma could feel the magic around the place. The stench of fairy dust in the air made the Darkness within Emma recoil just a bit. 

She walked up to the front gate and pushed it open, her guard up, her stomach tightening with each step in anticipation of either finding her family or finding a fight. She continued into the estate, and glanced around, still hoping to find a fairy that could just make this easy for her. The Darkness screamed out and Emma decided to let it take over just a bit when she kicked in a window and jumped through it instead of using the front door. Again, there was no one in the room she entered. She wasn’t giving up though. She knew the building had multiple levels and she was going to search every single one of them. 

Listening to the Darkness Emma decided to start with the basement, since it made more sense for an evil plan than leaving someone in a bedroom. Emma found the door to the basement and found it locked, this was a promising sign. The door exploded into wooden chunks as she magicked it across the room. She descended down the staircase into the dimly lit area. She was met with the face of a terrified fairy whose name she didn’t recall. 

“Where are they?” Her voice cold and demanding, sounding every bit the Dark One. 

The scared fairy started to sob. “If I tell you, will you let me go? Please don’t kill me!” The Darkness smiled basking in the terror it had brought to another. Emma had to breathe and focus to keep it at bay, she wasn’t ready to kill anyone yet, that honour would be saved for Blue.

Agreeing to spare the fairy Emma was pointed down a hall that was lit by crude torches. The fairy told her that she would find Blue and her family, but there was a protection ward around them that would be impenetrable, even to Emma. She laughed and kept moving, teleporting the fairy outside and tying her to a tree with a wave of her hand.

She found the barrier the fairy spoke of on the door at the end of the hall, she tried grabbing the doorknob, it stopped her. She then tried teleporting inside of it which wouldn’t work since she didn’t know what was inside. She tried punching it, kicking it, and screaming at it, none of them worked. She was so close, this would not stop her. She knew that she was the most powerful being in Storybrooke, besides Regina, and she thought back to the magic lessons Regina had given her. She tried to channel her rage and hate sending a wave of magic to the barrier, it did nothing. A little voice in her head taunted her, telling her she wasn’t enough, that she could never be enough for her family. She would always be that orphan that no one loved and never deserved their love anyway. She tried to push the thoughts away and tried to focus on the one word of the taunts that could possibly be the answer: love.

She pictured Regina and Henry in her mind. She thought about all the happy times they had spent together as a family. She thought about the dinners where they had spent hours laughing and playing games after eating the best food Emma had ever tasted. She thought about the way Henry snuggled into her when they watched movies on the couch. She thought of the way Regina looked at her when she thought she wasn’t paying attention; the way her eyes seemed to always sparkle and the way she always seemed on the verge of saying something else when Emma said goodnight at the end of their dinners. She thought of the way their magic combined perfectly, the feel of Regina’s skin on hers, and she thought of the way Regina’s lips felt against hers in that brief second they had connected. A bright wave of light shot out of her hands and hit the barrier. It sparked and dissipated.

Emma grabbed the door handle and yanked it open. She ran into the room where she saw Blue standing next to Regina, who had been tied to a pole, she had been gagged with a cloth and Emma could see the anti-magic cuff clearly on her wrist. Henry was next to her. He too was bound, gagged, and blindfolded, but he was at least sitting in a chair as opposed to Regina who was slumped on the floor. She noticed that Hook was also in the room several feet away from Henry and Regina. He too was bound and gagged but he seemed to be staring off into space, unaffected by her sudden arrival. A dark sickly chill went through Emma’s spine. The thought of him being hurt suddenly excited the dark part of her, and she had to will herself to focus back on the other people in the room. 

“Emma. I’m still not sure how you were able to break free from my curse, it should have been impossible, but I won’t let you hurt this town. I may be just a fairy, but I will do as my King and Queen have commanded and keep this town safe from you.” Blue held up a wand, looking like a snake ready to strike its prey. 

Emma knew her parents had some part of whatever had happened, but she never thought that they could be the ones responsible for the whole thing. She wasn’t sure where to even start with the fairy’s statement. “Why would you think I would hurt anyone? I love this town, my family is here, why would I do anything to hurt them?”

Blue laughed back at her, the wand shaking in her hand as the sound reverberated around the room. “You’re the Dark One! You’re pure evil, of course you want to hurt everyone! I won’t let you.” She let a bolt of energy shoot out of the wand, but Emma managed to dodge it by rolling to her left. 

“Blue listen to me! That’s how I’m here, True Love and you can’t have that if you’re pure evil right?” She remained crouched, ready to dodge the next attack as she tried to talk sense into Blue.

“It has to be a trick, you’re evil, you can’t have True Love,” Blue yelled in a hysterical voice that reminded Emma of horror films where the psycho slasher taunted their victims. 

Emma was grateful that Blue’s attention seemed to be on her and not Henry or Regina, though she was worried that Regina seemed to either be unconscious or sleeping during the fight. She could see Henry squirming in his chair, but she was grateful that he couldn’t see what was occurring. She wasn’t sure how stable the fairy was and needed to keep the fairy’s attention and convince her that she was being truthful.

“I’m not sure how to prove this to you, other than the fact that I’m standing here instead of in Seattle or under a curse or whatever that was that you did to me. It was True Love’s Kiss.” Her eyes darted to Regina for a split second, but Blue noticed the movement.

“No that can’t be! Your True Love is Hook! They told me it was, and look at him. He’s lost to the void.” Blue’s hand lowered just slightly and her eyes flickered to the man.

Emma knew she had to get through to the fairy. “Think about it Blue, True Love’s Kiss can break any curse, when I kissed Regina under the curse I ended up back in Storybrooke. I can’t be completely Evil, and I don’t want to be the Dark One. So all you have to do is untie her and let me kiss her. That will solve everything. No more Dark One.”

“But her?” Blue screamed.

“Blue, we moved a moon, stopped the trigger, I took the Darkness for her because I love her! We can fix everything, just let me kiss her. You can put the cuff on me, take my magic!” Emma was almost begging, she knew this would fix everything.

Blue sagged defeated and dropped the wand. “It won’t work.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen:**

“Excuse me?” Emma questioned.

Blue took a breath. “It won’t work in the way you think it will. True Love’s Kiss will take the Darkness from you, but it still needs a vessel, so it will leave you and choose another. If your True Love really is Regina it would likely choose to take her.” Emma suddenly found herself with the anti magic cuff on her wrist. “You must be contained. That’s what the curse was for, you shouldn’t have been able to break it, even with True Love’s kiss.”

Still confused Emma asked, “Why shouldn’t it have worked, isn’t that exactly what True Love’s kiss does?” 

“It shouldn’t have worked because you didn’t actually have one. You were not physically in Seattle, it was all in your mind. I created a world to keep you contained, and therefore it shouldn’t have been possible for it to break” 

“But when have Regina and I ever done anything the conventional way?” Emma laughed and her heart jumped as she noticed Regina moving slightly. The removal of the magic cuff seemed to have been the key to her regaining consciousness. “We broke a curse that was supposed to be impossible, we’ll break the Dark One curse as well.”

“I admire your confidence, but you’re still a danger to this town. I can’t let you leave here, it’s for everyone’s safety. We can’t risk the Darkness consuming you. I hope you understand.”

Emma sighed, she did understand, but she knew with Regina’s help they would break this curse as well. As she nodded at the fairy then she rushed to Regina’s side, as she was lifting Regina’s head to check on her, Blue’s voice interrupted.

“Remember what I said. If the Darkness leaves you, it will take another. Wanting to keep the Darkness for yourself prevents that from happening, so I would advise you to keep that in mind. I am sorry for the steps that were taken, but I hope you understand they were necessary.” Blue actually looked remorseful, which was probably the only thing that kept Emma from punching her in the face. 

“I don’t approve, and I can’t forgive you, but I understand. I also want you to understand, and believe me when I tell you, if you touch my family again I will fucking kill you, magic or no.” Emma growled at the fairy. 

Emma tore her glare from the fairy and smiled at Henry. She quickly untied him, checking him over to make sure he wasn’t injured. She also found herself glad that he was a teenager again, she hadn’t lost out on years of his life. She hugged him tightly then walked back to Regina and untied the woman who seemed to be fully conscious now. Their eyes connected and Emma knew that Regina remembered everything about their time in Hyperion Heights. 

Emma swallowed. Her feelings, her longing for Regina had all been exposed to the woman. Her heart clenched at the possibility of finally having what she had always wanted, but the darkness crept in and reminded her that she was worthless and Regina would probably reject her now that she wasn’t Roni. She was the Mayor and a Queen, no longer the free-spirited bartender. Emma watched as Regina’s eyes gazed at her for a second then flicked to Henry and then hardened. 

Unsure of how much he remembered from Seattle and his time as an adult she looked to Blue. “Fairy. Why did you do that to him? Why would you make him an adult and then rip his family away? He’s just a kid and now he has to live with the pain of something that isn’t even real? What the hell?” Emma was seething.

“It was for you, believe it or not. I knew Henry and Regina would never stop looking for you, or try and free you if they were not also in the curse, but having a teenage boy running around Seattle by himself would be a red flag, would it not? The curse gave him the story, I am not sure whose mind it came from, but it was not mine. I know that Regina knows many memory potions and can prepare something that will make Seattle seem like nothing but a bad dream.” Blue replied like she had done nothing wrong. It made Emma mad, so mad in fact she began walking towards the fairy with her fists balled. 

“She’s right.” Emma’s head swung back towards Regina. “The gnat is right, Henry and I would have kept looking for you, Emma.” There was something in the way her name emerged from Regina’s mouth, something that was new, but yet familiar, that made Emma’s rage completely dissipate. She looked up to see both her son and her Regina looking at her with looks of love and understanding. She wanted that to be how they always looked at her and if she had to want the Darkness until they figured out how to defeat it, then she would do that for them. 

“She’s lucky I didn’t swat her for messing with my son, but being as she was merely an instrument in this game I’m letting it slide, this time. Next time you mess with my family, you’re done. Got it, gnat?” It seemed there was still a touch of Roni in Regina, Emma smiled at the realisation.

Blue immediately apologised for everything and without hesitation agreed when Regina suggested that Emma be allowed to stay at the mansion with Regina and Henry, under the condition that she be on house arrest. A magical boundary was placed around the house, and without her magic, Emma could do nothing but comply. Regina had also asked Henry if he wanted his fake memories from the curse and when he decided he didn’t she went about making a memory spell. She understood his point, he was still a kid, no kid should have had to deal with the anguish of losing a child, it was just too much for a kid. He was definitely going to need some more time with Archie. She was actually really happy that he had the chance to go see a psychologist like Archie, even if he didn’t realise it, he was really lucky to have someone to help him sort out his thoughts and listen to him. She wondered if he made house calls.

Emma looked around the giant house she found herself in, sure she had been here plenty of times, but she was apparently going to be living here which was a whole different animal. She wasn’t sure if she should just sit in the kitchen and not touch anything, she really wanted a shower, but didn’t have any extra clothes and couldn’t magic them from her parent’s loft. In the end, she stood awkwardly staring out a window for what felt like hours. 

“Emma, what are you doing?” Regina’s soft voice cut through Emma’s boredom. 

“I uh, wasn’t sure what I was allowed to touch and didn’t want to bother you while you were busy.” Her natural confidence had taken a backseat to the emotions and thoughts that rushed around in her head. She hoped she wasn’t projecting the sudden burst of nerves that had suddenly appeared.

“You can touch whatever you want.” Regina’s voice dropped slightly. Emma’s eyes widened at the words and their implications.

She tried to stutter out some words, but nothing coherent came out. Her mind in overdrive as she watched Regina walk closer to her, a touch of extra sway in her hips. For a moment she was convinced that she had fallen asleep and was having a fantastic dream, until a warm hand touched hers. This was real.

“Um, we, um. Talk. We should talk right?” Her voice was squeaky and not at all confident.

Regina seemed to understand, because of course she did. “We’ve spent how many years dancing around this? The events in Hyperion Heights made it clear that we feel the same way, want the same things. I’m tired of waiting, Emma.”

Emma wanted nothing more than to launch herself forward and claim Regina’s lips and maybe take her right on the kitchen counter, but the little dark voice in the back of her mind brought her actions to a screeching halt. She remembered what Blue had said, she didn’t want to risk any kissing leading to Regina becoming the Dark One.

“I, we, can’t. I want to, god do I want to kiss you so much right now, but we can’t risk your soul.” Emma looked down as she said the words, she didn’t want to see the hurt on Regina’s face. The fingers under her chin lifted her head up and she looked on with wonder as she didn’t see hurt or disappointment looking back, no, it was a look that screamed adoration and love.

“We’ll figure out how to beat this curse, I believe in you Emma. I, would also really enjoy kissing you at the moment, but how about you just come and hug me for now.” Emma smiled and wrapped her arms around Regina’s slender frame. Both women relaxed into the embrace they had never before allowed themselves to experience.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen:**

It had taken exactly two hours for Snow and Charming to show up at the Mills mansion. The doorbell rang and caused Emma and Regina to spring apart. The two had been sitting snuggling next to Henry’s bed. He was currently napping, a side effect from the memory potion that would last for several more hours. Emma decided she would answer the door and yell for Regina if she needed anything, better to have the magical one watching over their son.

Emma’s face when she opened the door changed from curiosity to anger, she quickly slammed the door and turned back towards the stairs. The incessant knocking that continued caused Emma to lose her temper even more. She yanked the door back open and screamed at her parents. “What?”

Snow physically took a step back and held Charming’s hand just a bit tighter. “Emma, we can explain.” 

“You’re kidding me right? You had Blue abduct me and my family, and put us under a curse. You didn’t even think of talking to or asking me, you just assumed I would be this evil thing that killed everyone. What does that say about what you think of me? Give me one reason I don’t slam this door in your face and never talk to you again.” Her words came out more as growls, the Darkness bathing in the emotions. She couldn’t use her magic but that didn’t stop the flow of negative emotions that enveloped her like a blanket. It coursed through her veins and all she wanted to do was hurt them. She felt herself starting to lose the focus she maintained. Her vision started to get hazy as the anger grew stronger. Then it all stopped.

Emma flinched slightly as she felt the hand on her shoulder, but instantly she relaxed. She turned to see Regina’s worried face looking at her. “Are you okay?” She quietly asked and Emma nodded that she was.

Regina turned to the Charming’s and gave them a patented Evil Queen glare. “Why are you here? Haven’t you disturbed my family enough? I thought we had moved past our shared history, turns out you’re still holding quite the grudge, Snow.” 

Snow was quick to defend herself and her actions, as per usual, “No! It wasn’t like that. We were only thinking of the town and everyone’s safety. We had to keep them safe.” Charming didn’t seem to have much to add to the current conversation, he just nodded along to Snow’s words.

“This is the problem Snow. You think you’re doing what’s right for everyone, but you don’t actually stop and think, or even talk to the people involved. You just do whatever is the easiest way to avoid the hard decisions.” Emma’s rage had been placated by Regina’s calming touch, but she was still upset with her mother.

“Emma, no. I did this for you, I knew if something happened and you hurt someone it would destroy you when we finally fix you.” 

“You still don’t get it. I’m fighting the Darkness, every second I’m fighting. I gave up my magic, agreed to be under house arrest, I can’t even kiss the woman I love because I won’t risk hurting them.”

This time Charming interjected, “Did you just say you’re in love with a woman?” Emma’s eyes moved from Snow’s impersonation of a fish over to her father.

“I did and I mean it. The one good thing about the curse you let me be put under was that I was finally free from your expectations, finally free to give into the feelings for Regina that I’ve had for years.” Her voice took on a slight tone of pride and she felt Regina move her hand from her shoulder and wrap it around her waist. She laughed internally because she knew that Regina was enjoying this moment a bit too much.

“But Hook?” Snow shouted.

“What about him?” 

“Emma this is the Darkness talking. Hook is your True Love, and you’re madly in love with him.” Snow replied.

“No. He is not my true love and I was never in love with him. He was in love with me and I just went along with it because it seemed to make everyone else happy. I’m the Savior, I’m supposed to make others happy, but I finally realised that I wasn’t thinking about my own happiness.” Emma tried to hold emotion out of her voice.

“Are you sure?” Charming asked.

“Positive. Think about it, we already share a son, we were already a family before. The only thing this changes is that I might have to actually listen when Regina tells me to do things.” Emma joked trying to lighten the mood slightly but yelped when she was pinched by the woman who had her arm around her. She whispered an apology to the scowling woman. “But yes I am positive about this, Regina is my True Love, and even if she wasn’t, this is what I’ve wanted for years.”

“Do you feel the same, Regina?” Snow asked, her voice surprisingly gentle.

“Yes.” It seemed that Regina didn’t feel like sharing any more of her personal life with the Charming’s than she had to.

“So, can we get back to the discussion about how you both just decided to abduct us and curse us?” Emma’s voice hardened just a touch but still didn’t hold the anger it did before. 

“We’re, I’m, sorry Emma. I just wanted to help. I should have talked to you, should have trusted you to solve this. I’m sorry.” Snow was starting to tear up and Emma knew that she was realising what a mistake she had made.

Emma sighed. “An apology doesn’t fix this, we had to Men in Black Henry, Regina was kidnapped again, I’m not sure what happened to Hook, and who knows who else was affected by this. You need to trust me and Regina to fix this okay? I believe in us, she believes in us, we need you to believe in us. You can either help us try to find a cure for the Darkness or you can give us space until we figure it out, it’s your choice.” 

“We love you and believe in you. Tell us what we can do.” Snow’s conviction was startling after expressing doubts about her just moments prior.

Emma looked to Regina and cocked her eyebrow looking for suggestions. Regina rolled her eyes and invited the Charming’s into her house. Emma grabbed her hand and held it while they walked her parents into the living room and began to discuss ideas of ways to defeat the Darkness. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen:**

The sound of her door opening and a teenage boy creeping into her room woke Emma up from a rather alarming dream. She rolled over and looked at her son who seemed embarrassed that he had been caught in the act.

“Morning kid. What time is it?” She asked, the sleep still evident in her voice. 

“It’s seven thirty.” Emma groaned at his answer. “I know, but mom wanted me to come get you for breakfast.”

“There better be something besides eggs. I need my breakfast staples.” She laughed while she threw back the white fluffy duvet and moved to get out of bed. Sleep wasn’t something that had been easy for her lately, every time she slept she had nightmares, fantasies from the Darkness. Several times she had woken up and immediately vomited due to the imagery she had been subjected to while asleep. She hadn’t mentioned the nightmares to anyone yet, but she had a feeling that Regina knew something was wrong.

Emma had been staying at the mansion for the past two weeks. They decided that Emma taking the guest room would help both of them to set a comfortable pace on a relationship. They still hadn’t quite defined their relationship as dating, but it felt that way to Emma. Most nights after Henry returned from school the three would sit and watch movies or play one of the dozen board or card games in the Mills mansion. Usually, after Henry had been tucked in for the night Emma and Regina stayed up to talk and continue research. They still hadn’t made substantial progress on the Dark One curse, but they both remained confident of finding an answer. 

They still hadn’t shared another kiss after the one in Hyperion Heights, but neither woman seemed willing to bring up the subject, both content with showing physical comfort to the other with hugs or cuddling. There had been several close calls, and by several, that meant just about every day. Both women had started routinely taking very long and very cold showers, and if you listened closely at night the sound of vibrators and quiet moans could be heard from both the master and the guest bedrooms. 

Emma shook her head from her thoughts, then exited the room heading for the bathroom to clean up before heading down to the kitchen for breakfast. Once finished in the bathroom she walked downstairs and when she turned the corner and spotted Henry and Regina in the kitchen having a quiet chat about something school related, she stood quietly observing them, still in shock that somehow they were still in her life. After a moment she walked into the kitchen making the two aware of her presence, both smiling at her appearance. 

“Morning,” Emma said as she walked over to Henry, hugged him, then walked to the counter where Regina had placed a cup of coffee made exactly how Emma liked it. 

“How are you feeling this morning?” Regina asked as Emma sipped her delicious coffee and moaned at the taste of the drink.

Emma put her coffee down on the counter. She grabbed a plate from one of the cabinets. She took a few heaping spoonfuls of the scrambled eggs Regina had made and scooped them onto her plate and grabbed the bacon that had clearly been made just for her. “I got a few hours of sleep, totally ready to tackle some more research. Did Snow bring over any new leads?” 

Snow and Belle had teamed up and had recruited many of the townsfolk to help research a cure for the Darkness. Several of the townsfolk could read other languages and were helping with the books in their corresponding languages; while Belle and Snow scoured the books in languages they knew. The team had brought a few promising ideas to Regina, but had all been rejected due to the possibility of harming Emma or the town. 

Regina handed Emma a fork that she noticed Emma had forgotten. “No, unfortunately. Belle is supposed to bring by a few more books from Gold’s shop today though.” 

Henry sat at the kitchen table and watched silently as his mothers discussed the number of books contained at the pawnshop, he noticed that they seemed to be interacting in a completely new way. They seemed to have almost a telepathic connection, more than they ever had before. He watched as they had a complete conversation composed mostly of silence. It was quite an interesting turn of events. He couldn’t remember their time in Seattle but he knew something had happened between the pair and he knew he was going to do everything he could to encourage their relationship. This was his family and having a whole family was way better than two halves of a family. 

Henry offered to help with research, as he did every day, but just as every other time his help was declined. Regina reminded him that he had both school and his weekly appointment with Archie today. He was always grateful that his parents encouraged him to continue seeing Archie after the first curse had broken, the subsequent curses and battles against villains had only reinforced the importance of talking to someone he trusted no matter what. He knew that today’s session would involve planning a new operation, Operation Penguin.

Regina’s eyes met Henry’s and she regarded him for a moment, as if she was trying to read his mind, she then smiled at him and checked the time. It was nearly time for school. He finished his breakfast then ran to brush his teeth and grab his backpack. He said his goodbyes to his mothers and left the house. 

Emma who had long since finished her breakfast started to clean up the dishes in the kitchen when she felt Regina near her. She looked over at her and saw her dark eyes fixed upon her. Emma knew that Regina was trying to figure out how to approach her. She figured that Regina had noticed her state and that they were finally going to discuss it.

“How are you doing?” Emma felt Regina’s arms wrap themselves around her and she relaxed back into her, her head lulling back onto Regina’s shoulder. God, she wanted nothing but to turn around and kiss her, but she still couldn’t risk it. Nevertheless, she needed to talk to Regina, she needed help dealing with her ever-worsening descent into the Darkness.

She took a deep breath and slowly turned around in Regina’s arms. “I’ve been having these dreams,” she started. “Some dreams start as if I’m doing something normal, but then things change, the Darkness seeps in and suddenly all I want to do is hurt someone. I’ve dreamt of hurting everyone in this town multiple times, I can usually handle and ignore those dreams, but the ones that I can’t seem to shake are the ones where I hurt you or Henry.” Emma could feel the tears starting to fall and the nausea creeping into her stomach at the memories.

Regina held her a little tighter, having personal knowledge of dealing with having committed heinous acts against another was something she never thought she was going to find useful, but it seemed as if this was just another thing that made them so perfect for each other. “Emma, you haven’t hurt anyone. I know you, the Darkness can’t change who you really are in your soul. The Darkness would have never willingly chosen you because you are probably the only person in the entire world that could stop it from taking you over. You are a good person Emma. You do things for others because you want to make them happy, and before you say anything, it isn’t because you’re the Saviour, it’s who you are. You gave up Henry so that he could have his best chance, you took the Darkness for me, you used to track down escaped criminals for a living, you’ve saved this town more times than Snow can count. You, Emma Swan, are and have always been, a hero. We will fight this Darkness and we will win, do you know why?” 

Emma’s tears flowed freely down her face as she heard from the woman that she loved more than anything, “Why?” her voice cracked as she answered.

“Because good always wins. Sometimes they even win over Evil Queens.” She smiled and if Emma had ever had any doubts about how Regina felt, her smile told her everything she needed to know. Regina loved her completely and totally. 

A few tears leaked from Regina’s eyes as they brought their foreheads together, both wanting nothing more than to kiss the other in the moment, but knowing the consequences would be immediate and dire. The two stood there revelling in each other for a long pause until Emma spoke. “Thank you.”

“I should be the one thanking you, you did save me from the Darkness, and from being a barmaid for the rest of my life.” Light laughter emanated from them and echoed around the room. “What can I do to make things easier for you? My magic won’t make the dreams stop, it can only keep you awake. Perhaps the cricket could also be of assistance to you?”

“Maybe? I can’t leave the house though, and isn’t everyone afraid to be alone with me?” Emma replied.

“The town loves you and I’ll get him to come over to the house. He can just have a session with each of us all in one go.” Regina had started moving her hands up and down Emma’s arms, but now settled with her hands intertwined with Emma’s.

They detangled and called Archie to discuss the plan with him, he was more than willing to make a Swan-Mills house visit, a date was agreed upon by all parties and Regina hung up the phone. She picked the phone back up as Emma went upstairs to shower. She confirmed when the librarian would bring the next stack of books over to be combed through, she had a good feeling, she wasn’t sure why but it seemed that things were looking up and that tiny spark of hope led her to feel positive about this round of books.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen:**

Home visits from Archie had gone well, for Emma at least. Regina had found it hard to open back up fully to him as she had once done, and Henry just thought the change of scenery was weird. All three had agreed to keep the psychologist visits happening on the same days to accommodate Emma. Emma’s meetings had emotionally drained her, she spent most of their time together recounting dreams and trying to work out meanings, she often left out the most graphic of the imagery, as during the first session she told him the details of her dream that morning and he looked on the verge of passing out.

Regina had convinced Emma to start sleeping in her room, though Emma still worried about an accidental kiss, she accepted the offer. Her dreams had lessened slightly and she was able to get a few more hours of sleep than before. She knew that it was because having Regina’s arms wrapped around her felt like home, and she was able to actually relax while in her arms. 

Research had been slowly progressing, there had even been a few ideas they had tried, but sadly had not worked. Regina worried that an answer would never be found, as the supply of books that had not been gone through was almost depleted. She was working on one of the last batches of books from Gold’s shop and that flicker of hope she had started to feel was quickly waning. Due to that hope being slowly extinguished she finally decided that she would let Henry help with some of the research. 

Henry had immediately delved into the first book placed into his hands, his attention completely focused on the task at hand. About two hours later he stood up stiffly. 

“Mom! Mom! Look!” He thrust the book in her face pointing to a small paragraph. 

"The answer really cannot be that simple, can it? A blood transfusion of sorts." Regina ran through all of her research in her head, trying to fit this new piece of information into the puzzle.

Henry looked over at his mom then immediately rushed to her and hugged her. "We did it, oh my god mom. I knew we would figure it out!"

She basked momentarily in the embrace of her son, but then kissed his forehead and pushed away from him. She needed to cross-reference her research with the new information. After just about an hour she called him back over. "I think I have the basics of it figured out. It seems to indicate that we need to take blood directly from the beating heart of her true love and inject it directly into Emma's heart."

"Take mine." Henry immediately volunteered. Regina looked proud for a moment before the look turned into sadness.

"Henry, no. We don't know if there will be any side effects from the spell, and if it hurts you I couldn’t live with that and Emma would never forgive me. She sacrificed herself for my happy ending, and I know that you're a big part of both of ours." 

He pouted then added, "I get it, but let me help. I need to help somehow". 

Regina smiled at her son. Her heart simultaneously beaming at him for wanting to help and breaking a little at the fact that she knew the true love had to be a romantic true love, not that he could know that fact.

"How do we know this will work?" a voice asked.

Regina looked up where Emma was standing in the doorway, clearly she had been there for several minutes. "Well hello to you too Miss Swan." Emma looked a little sheepish before Regina continued, “I didn’t want to call you down until I had fully figured this out since we don’t actually know that it will work. It appears that it might be a viable option and I have most of the ingredients already, so we should be able to do the spell any time you’re ready."

"No."

"No?" the brunette asked while arching her perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

“We need to make sure it won’t hurt you first,” Emma’s voice emitted various emotions all at once.

Regina sighed, “I will do more research to make sure, but I need you to trust me on this.”

Emma shrugged a little and replied, "I do. I trust you."

Those three words were like a punch in the gut to the formerly Evil Queen. For someone who she loved and cared for to say without hesitation that they trusted her so completely was almost unfathomable. The feeling made her a little self conscious as the blonde stared at her waiting.

“Yes well, we should consult Gold and Belle.” Regina tugged her shirt and smoothed out the invisible wrinkles. 

Emma agreed and they contacted Gold. He seemed to know nothing of the spell and seemed almost jealous that Emma had a possible cure. Belle speculated that Henry had been the one to find it because he was the one with the heart of the truest believer. It almost seemed that the spell had been made just for Emma and her family. When they heard the theory they both looked at each other and nodded slightly. They were on the same page; they had to have faith in the spell. 

"Yes, well, shall we?" Regina asked.

Regina poofed to her vault, gathered a few things, then poofed back to the study. She then directed Emma to the seat next to her and began the spell. It was a fairly simple spell, taking a magical syringe, plunging it into her heart, removing some of her blood and then injecting it into the Dark One's heart. She held the silver dagger with Emma’s name in her hand and began the ritual. 

The sensation of the syringe extracting blood from her beating heart was beyond painful, but she focused on her feelings of love for Emma and gritted her teeth through the process. Once enough blood was drawn the needle removed itself from the organ, magically sealing the puncture wound. The needle flew through the air and violently pierced the Dark One’s heart. Emma's eyes went wide with shock as the plunger was slowly depressed. Once the contents had all been injected the syringe withdrew itself and fell to the floor, the spell was finished. 

Both women's eyes remained glued to each others, searching for any sign that the spell had worked. The seconds ticked by one after another, and just as the two were ready to give up, Emma screamed. A black cloud started seeping from her body. The cloud kept growing until it blocked out the light in the room completely. The sounds of Emma screaming in the pitch-black room scared Regina more than anything else ever had.

A sudden burst of light forced the brunette's eyes to close. The room suddenly was completely quiet. She opened her eyes and saw Emma lying on the floor. She scrambled over to her and checked to make sure she was breathing and had a pulse. After confirming both she sat down and cradled Emma’s head in her lap. 

"Emma! Wake up! Please!" Regina was calmed slightly by the rhythmic breathing of the blonde, but the tears still came. One after another until she could no longer see. Regina closed her eyes and started to whisper words of encouragement, hoping the woman in her arms would wake. 

She held Emma, gently rocking back and forth, channeling her love and willing the woman in her arms to wake.

  
  


Henry ran back into the study having let his love for his mothers override the instructions to stay away until that Regina had given him. He was shocked to find them on the floor. He tentatively made his way over and sat next to the women, taking note of the blank dagger discarded on the floor.

"Did it work?" he asked as he took Emma's limp hand.

"I, I don't know. I believe so, but I won't know until she wakes up." Regina croaked out.

Henry sat with his mothers in silence, waiting.

Turns out he didn't need to wait that long. It was only a few moments after Henry grabbed Emma's hand that he felt it twitch. He had only opened his mouth to ask his other mother if she too had noticed when the blonde sucked in a breath. Her eyes flew open and darted around the room. They landed on Regina's and stopped.

"Hi." Emma smiled and Regina returned the smile ten fold.

"Ma?" At the noise Emma's eyes darted to her son.

"Hey kid!" She smiled at him but when her throat felt a bit dry she asked him to get her some water. He sprung up and practically skipped to the kitchen. 

Emma took in the position she was in, mainly the fact that she was in the Queen's lap and said Queen was holding her. She managed to sit up never losing physical contact with Regina.

"I think it worked. I don't feel the darkness anymore. But everything is so bright and colourful. It's almost too much." 

"Perhaps you just need more rest. You have been through a very traumatic incident. But, yes, it does appear it worked." The smile never left Regina's face as she looked at the blonde.

Henry returned with the water, both women drank an entire glass before he could blink. Knowing that sleep was about to claim her, Emma pulled Henry in for a hug. She smirked at the shocked face that Regina sported when she pulled her into the hug as well. She felt nothing but warmth and love radiating from the two and she couldn't help but fall asleep cocooned in the arms of her family. 

When Emma finally woke, it was to the smell of coffee and bacon. She glanced around the room and found she was in Regina's bed and also in Regina’s silk pajamas. She got up from the bed, stretched her body and noted how much lighter she felt. She slipped out of the room and walked down the stairs towards the kitchen. She watched Regina going through the steps of preparing her coffee and felt a strange sensation pulsing through her body; it was a surge of pure love and adoration. There was no Darkness in her heart. 

The hairs on the back of Regina's neck tingled and she felt a surge of warmth flood through her blood. She turned around and spotted Emma watching in the doorway. There was a light coming off of the blonde and it appeared to be magical. Before she could say anything she found herself wrapped in a tight hug. The hug felt so good, she relaxed into it for a moment before Emma pulled back and then their lips were touching. It was tentative at first, almost as if Emma was afraid that things would go badly and the Darkness would return. The kisses then became more intense and more emotional. Emma was pouring all of the love she felt that she hadn’t been able to show for the past few weeks (years really if you counted how long she had been in love with Regina) into the contact and Regina seemed to pour all of those same emotions right back. 

When Regina started to feel herself being picked up she pushed Emma back a little. “Good morning to you as well. Henry will be down soon and we don’t need to scar him, yet.” 

“I know, but I finally get to kiss you again. I don’t want to miss any more opportunities to kiss you.” Emma punctuated with another kiss. “We already missed out on several years of kisses, so we have a lot to make up for.” Another kiss. 

Smiling as she leaned in for another kiss Regina said, “We do indeed Miss Swan.”

**The End.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this story. Thank you to my betas/readers Ivy and Courtney. Thank you to the SQSN mods for another fantastic year, seriously you all are amazing!


End file.
